Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Very nicely done YA novel. Fast moving and well written. The end was just a bit convenient. But that was only a minor quibble. On the whole the heroine was interesting and you really felt like you knew her by the end of the book. The secondary characters were well written and interesting. The book was written in first person present tense which I really don't like but it wasn't too intrusive. The love story was fairly sweet like in any number of teen movies. the girl ignores her best friend who is the boy who truly loves her to go out with the handsome jock then realizes her mistake Still it was nicely done. There were some difficult themes such as abuse but there is nothing explicit. There was a mystery element as the heroine didn't remember what happened the night of the accident. I would not hesitate to recommend this to teenage girls. There is no sex and only a minor mention of drinking and that was by the bad guys. Clean with only a couple of sweet kisses mentioned in passing.… (mehr)

Right before Rachel was killed she sent her best friend Jaycee a text asking her for help, and she ignored it. Now Jaycee must figure out what happened to Rachel or she will never be able to live with herself. Who would have wanted Rachel dead? There is handsome Eric who has been Jaycee's crush forever, but Rachel spent New Year's Eve with him. What about Skylar, Eric's quiet younger brother who was with Jaycee on the night Rachel died and is the reason she ignored her text. Then there are the Hispanic migrant workers in town that nobody seems to trust including the enigmatic Eduardo who seemed to have some connection to Rachel and has a huge chip on his shoulder. Why did Rachel change so much in the months before her death? Piercings, dyed hair, and revealing clothing had never been a part of Rachel's life before their visit to the abandoned house where Rachel had seen something that made her scream and come away covered in blood.

This is a good thriller about guilt and the lengths that it can make us go to find the truth - a good but sad story.… (mehr)

This YA novel caught my eye because I enjoyed one of the author's other books and wanted to keep up with her work. This is more of a mystery novel than I realized it would be but in a good way. Set in eastern Washington, it weaves the tale of a friendship gone wrong and how the main character is haunted by the murder of her friend and wants to make it right by learning the truth. I don't think the book's title does it justice. The ending plot got a little muddled for me and somewhat implausible, but others might disagree and I really enjoyed the main character's journey through the story. I recommend others give the book a try if you like this type of YA fiction.… (mehr)